COLUMBIA, S.C. — Officers with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) used smart phone technology to locate a man reported missing by his family while hunting on New Year's Day, in time for the man to receive urgent medical treatment.
SCDNR officers were contacted by the man's family around 3 p.m. Jan. 1 after family members were unable to locate the man's truck in the area in which he had said he would be hunting on family property near the border of Bamberg and Orangeburg counties. The man, known to have medical issues, was not answering his phone.
Investigators relied on telecommunications technology that allows them to ping the man's phone and pinpoint his location within 50 feet. The man was located approximately 5 miles from where he said he would be hunting.
The man's son was able to find his father, initially unresponsive, beside his pickup truck on an unfamiliar property, using the location provided by the investigators. The son was able to communicate with SCDNR officers that his father regained consciousness but was disoriented and confused.
Paramedics were called to the scene and the man was transported to a hospital for medical care.
Col. Chisolm Frampton, head of the agency’s Law Enforcement Division, said, “This is a great example of game wardens doing life-saving work in their communities with the aid of technology."